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13. Behavioral Administrative theories

Behavioral administrative theories focus on understanding and explaining the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations within the realm of public administration. These theories draw from behavioral psychology, sociology, and organizational behavior to shed light on how people and institutions operate in administrative settings. Here are some key behavioral administrative theories:

1. **Public Choice Theory**: Public choice theory applies economic principles to the study of public administration. It assumes that individuals, including public officials, act in their self-interest and seeks to analyze how these self-interested actions influence public policies and outcomes.

2. **Organizational Behavior**: Organizational behavior theories examine how individuals, groups, and teams behave within organizations, including government agencies. This includes studying topics like motivation, leadership, communication, and decision-making within administrative settings.

3. **Bounded Rationality**: Bounded rationality theory suggests that individuals and organizations have limited cognitive abilities and information processing capabilities. As a result, decision-making is often less than fully rational, and people use heuristics or shortcuts to make choices.

4. **Principal-Agent Theory**: This theory explores the relationship between principals (typically, the public or policymakers) and agents (often, public officials or bureaucrats) and the challenges of ensuring that agents act in the best interests of principals. It addresses issues of information asymmetry and incentives.

5. **Institutional Theory**: Institutional theories examine how formal and informal rules, norms, and cultures shape behavior within organizations, including public agencies. It considers how institutions influence decision-making, organizational structures, and behavior.

6. **Street-Level Bureaucracy**: Street-level bureaucracy theory focuses on the discretion exercised by front-line public officials (e.g., police officers, social workers) when implementing policies. It explores how these officials interpret and apply policies in practice.

7. **Public Service Motivation**: This theory investigates the motivations of individuals working in public service. It suggests that some public servants are motivated by a desire to contribute to the public good and examines how this motivation affects their behavior.

8. **Behavioral Economics**: Behavioral economics combines insights from psychology and economics to understand how cognitive biases and psychological factors influence decision-making, including policy choices and administrative actions.

These behavioral theories provide valuable insights into the actions, decisions, and interactions of individuals and organizations in the field of public administration. They help policymakers and administrators better understand the complexities of human behavior within governmental contexts.

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